Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Criminals and Sharks

Still, I have no internet at my new house and it's killing me as well as squashing my ability to post the multitude of things bouncing around my noggin. So instead of doing a proper post I'm going to do another random posting of various tidbits.

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Yesterday, i had two separate encounters with Texas DPS Officers. Occasionally I go out of town for work. Used to be the post office here in Amarillo maintained mail sorting machines in half a dozen area offices, but these days only two towns still have these machines. Guymon, Oklahoma and Childress, Texas. Both are two hour car trips.

So yesterday while driving to Childress in the white cargo van with the postal emblem blazed on every side of the vehicle I got pulled over. The officer wanted to know why the vehicle didn't have a license plate. An straightforward enough question for a lawman doing his job. I explained that they removed the plates from postal owned vehicles after 911 because someone had stolen a plate in an unsecured lot and then tried to gain access to a military base or something of that nature. The highway patrolman remained skeptical.

He questioned me some more asking where I worked. I lifted my ID badge which was hanging around my neck and said the the US Postal Service.

Next he asked me what was in the van. My answer, computer equipment and circuit cards along with necessary tools.

And again he said, "And where do you work." I badly wanted to say UPS just to see oif he was paying attention but decided not to.

He took my license, ran it to make certain I had no warrants then then once again said, "And you work where?"

Sure I had a Gourds t-shirt on and a weeks worth of facial growth, but given I had a postal ID badge with my picture on it and a driver's licence to match and a vehicle with 8 bajillion postal eagles on it should have been proof enough of my employment.

But most surprising he never asked if I was packing a gun. That's usually the first question I get asked when someone finds out I'm a postal worker.

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The mighty St Mary's Sharks played their first indoor soccer game of the season. I'm merely an assistant, but head coach Dan led the group pf 10 Kindergartners to victory last night. As usual there is no official score but every child on the team could tell you they won 7-4.

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Read an interesting news story about a woman who stole another ladies identity and used it to open a line of credit at a plastic surgery center which she used for a breast augmentation. The doctors staff contacted the real lady to find out why she missed her follow up appointment they discovered the crime. Police are still looking for the suspect, or should I say suspects.

I don't live in Florida but I'm should the need arise I'm willing to serve on the jury should they catch the offender. Of course everyone is innocent until proven guilty so examining the evidence would be a must.

40 comments:

Are you sure the perp had a boob job, Travis? You might not want to examine an old lady's face lift too closely...think Joan Rivers. I would check all the facts before volunteering for that jury panel.

I've never before thought to ask you about the whole gun thing, since you work at the post office. Now that I think about it though, it's pretty funny. Next time I see you, I will ask just to see the look on your face!

The cop story reminds me of a news item a few years ago about a Connecticut town that gave prospective cops an intelligence/aptitude test. They refused to hire the guys and gals that did well saying they would just get bored at the job.

Travis, that cop sounds like one of the kids I teach. Honestly, I explain something, write it on the board, then explain it again half a dozen times, and someone from the back will invariably ask me the exact same thing I so carefully explained five minutes later. Sometimes I really wish I could drink on the job, and I don't even drink.

Oh my gosh, what a story about the cop. I would've had a hard time not being a smart-ass after the tenth time he asked where you work. Did he think he was going to trip you up and you'd accidentally say you work for bomb makers or something? Jeez.

I love that the kids keep score anyway. I always wonder how that works. Weird.

Hubby was pulled over a couple of months ago. The cop thought he was DUI because he had been weaving on the road. Well, hubby had just come from the gym and was trying to avoid pot holes. He was perspiring and had a towel around his neck. No trace of alcohol on his breath.

After reading some of the comments about the questions the cop asked you, there seems to be a misunderstanding about questioning technique. Policemen will ask a question at least three different ways during a conversation to see if the person being questioned slips up in their answer. Has nothing to do with them being morons.